Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-05-20


their part in that mighty drama. 0
the graves of such as passed beyond
and there met their and our brethren
1 have naught to lay but fragran
flowers. For the living l hay
naught but a hearty God-speed.
We were not fighting a persons
fight; we were not moved by tn
spirit of spite, ofanger or revenge.
was with unfeigned sadness, with
sorrow too deep for expression, tina
we entered into the war, and only be
cause we could not keep good con
science otherwise and we were as W
believed fighting the battle of tn
North as we'll as of the South, tn
battle of the free of all nations AM
ages.
These were the institutions whicl
produced these heroic men; thes
were the causes for which they CAV,
their lives. And we this day take oul
place with them at their illustriou
and distant bar and submit ourselve
with them to its august judgment.
In eloquent language he drew ,
graphic picture of the conquest o
the South. OF the desolation, Tho
poverty and the misery that marked
the condition of the southern people
at the close of the war in which they
were subjugated.
"They had stsked and lost, and IL
good faith abided the result. They
had submitted to the arbitrament o.
arms and the verdict was agains
them and they bowed to it complete
ly, without reservation or murmur
do not mean without sorrow but ]
do mean without murmur. 1t was
accepted as final, irretrievable, ire
versible. There was not corporate
guard, there has not been since the
war, there is not now, who hoped
who dreamed, who desired to make
another appeal to arms, or to make
another effort TO establish the Confed.
eracy.
II was ordained that the expert.
ment of American liberty should be
tried under one Union, without slay-
cry, and with the enfranchised negro
and with one heart the "South" went
to work to perform with absolute
fidelity her part in this mighty enter
prise"
The speaker reviewed the trials
and troubles of the days of recon-
struction and the years succeeding,
out of which the present generation
has emerged and added:
"This new generation now coming
into power, this post bellum genera
ton, who will soon be dominant, has
been trained North and South under
auspices, influences, surroundings,
wholly unlike those by which we
were trained. In the North the youth
are not trained to overthrow slavery !;
in the South their youth are not
trained to defend slavery. In the
admission of new States, in the
settlement of new territories, there
is no "balance of power" to be main
tanned or overcome. No longer must
the surplus of Southern enterprise be
invested in new lands to be titled by
owned labor; and this surplus will
seek-is seeking new enterprises
and diversified industries are sup
planting the old fashioned way OF
raising single product. This will
cause new rivalries; new combina-
tions new adjustments, which will
in time cause newipolitical alliances,
Out of all these varied causes the
Republic of the future will emerge
the joint product of not only the
North and South, but the West and
those hosts of immigrants who yearly
seek homes in our midst. Immigra-
ton means not only the addition of
so many men, so many persons, so
much money, but the introduction
into our lives ofnew thoughts, other
traditions, other customs, other hopes.
These immigrants bring with them
their household gods, their religion
and their thought; and these become
part of those occult but controlling
forces which develop a people and
mould nation"
After pleasant tribute to the gal
liant Woodward and his men the ora
tor closed as follows:
"On this monument these heroes are
called "unknown," and is this so? In
the twenty-five years since they were
buried here, the evidence of their
names have been lost, and to-day we
know not by what names they were
known. In that sense they are un-
known; but their names are not lost,
On the muster rolls of their COM
mands their honored names remain I;
on the hearts of those who loved
them and mourned for them, their
precious names are engraven; on
Gods roll on high their immortal
names are radiant. We cannot re-
peat their names; we can honor their
memories; we can reverence their
deeds; we can emulate their virtues ;
we can commemorate their death.
On this gentle ascent stand, thou
silent witness, aud testify to all who
come to this sacred place-here IN the
awful presence of the buried dead, in
the fearful sight of the recurring Wis
itations on the sad errands of burials,
in the august presence of an ever-liv-
ing God-that to lofty virtues, sane
titled by death, and noble hopes puri-
fed by sorrows and sacrifice, there Is
.knlt 30 4